Expectations versus reality – What you can do with your retirement funds

You’ve worked and tolled tirelessly for a number of years; so, you want to take the money you borrowed from a licensed money lender, or you want to rely on your retirement fund so you can live fruitfully when the time comes to retire. But, the amount you have, might not match what you expect it to do when you are retiring or getting ready to plan for your retirement in Singapore. So, how much is enough? How much do you have to save and how long do you have to work, so your money can go further? You want to live and enjoy the money and retirement funds you have worked so hard for, for so many years. So, let’s take a look at what you have, what you think you can do with those funds, and how far they are truly going to take you, if you are contemplating retirement. And, if you do not have enough stashed away to live comfortably when you are no longer working, you can at least make the modifications and you can reassess your standing, in order to ensure you can afford the lifestyle you desire when you do finally retire.

With over 300K Singaporeans 50-54 years of age, the next 10 to 15 years mean a great deal of individuals are going to be retiring. Fears among this group include: fear of proper healtcare, inflation rates, as well as unpaid debts they have accumulated over the years. So, whether you are near approaching the age of retirement, or if you are simply touching the surface, you have to know where funds are going to come from, how you can deal with such debts, and what type of lifestyle you can expect to have, given the income you earned while you were working for so many years.

Individuals 55 to 65 had about $570-$575K saved (in the group interviewed); and, those who had not saved as much, learned that they had begun saving a bit too late for those funds to accumulate. For the next 15 to 20 years, these participants claimed their retirement income would be just over $3.5K for their retirement years. So, how much and how far can this go? What type of lifestyle will this money afford those who are getting ready to retire, and wish to enjoy the years of their life when they do not have to work any longer?

Priority is key when it comes to planning for your retirement and when trying to save for it. –

Although there are some early planners out there, a majority of people do not begin to contemplate or even start to save for retirement until they are at about the age of 40. At this point in time they have put little, if any aside for retirement; and, at this point, they are more than 1/2 of their working life completed, meaning there are only a few years remaining for them to start setting funds aside for retirement.

Singles age 35 to 49 had set aside 51% for investment and savings. Those 18 to 34 had set aside 38%, and married individuals 25 to 62, had allocated 43% to retirement savings. Many respondents seemed secure in leaving their retirement funds out of a central government bank. Regardless of the group you fall into, or if you have begun to plan for retirement, it is important to know how much you are going to need, wen you should start to save, and how to go about allocating funds of your earnings, so that you can plan accordingly for when the time comes for you to begin to plan for your retirement.

What you should learn –

Of course, there are a number of lessons you can learn from those who are near approaching retirement and have not done things according to plan; and, you can also learn from your self, and your lack of saving in the past. So, you want to begin to save as early as possible. Even if you do not plan on getting married or having a family, inflation does rear into the equation; so, you are going to have to save more, if you want to live the lifestyle you have grown accustomed to, during the years you have been working for so long. If you do not have the same for inflation, you are not going to have the same lifestyle you want to live.

Materialistic indulgences should be left to your early 20s; when you start to save, you should do just that, save. You do not want to go for the crazy sports car, or the pricey condo on the beach. Rather, take the time to plan out your finances. Make sure you have fun while you are younger; but, once you hit a certain age, you should begin to plan for retirement. Even if you think you are too young in your 30s, you are going to be happy with yourself when you see just how much you have saved when the time actually does come for you to retire.

Medical care is costly; this is a big lesson to learn. You want to plan accordingly here as well. You do not want to go through your elder years wondering how you will pay for quality healthcare. So, taking the time to see how much it will cost, how much of your retirement fund it is going to kick into, and how you can go about planning and saving, are a few of the things you should do early on, to ensure you can properly allocate the monies you are going to be spending each month, when you are retired.

The bottom line is that you are never too young to start to plan, or at least to think about, your retirement. And, the earlier you do so, the easier it is going to be for you to begin to save. No matter what you do, what line of work you are in, or what your age, these are a few things to contemplate, as you are trying to figure out how to live comfortably, when the time comes to retire.